Naïveté
by DawnieWrites
Summary: Cat was in no way as naïve as people seemed to assume she was. Sure she acted sketchy and scatterbrained but most of the rest of it? The proverbial dumb blonde act? It was just that: an act. After all, she did go to a school for actors and actresses.


**A/N: I own nothing. BtVS belongs to Whedon. Victorious belongs to Schneider.**

**I wrote this last school year near the end of the year for creative writing. The goal was to write a short story that contained both an Illusion and an Allusion. Based on this picture-prompt:**

www. marcofolio images / stories / fun / other / word_illusion / good_evil. jpg

^remove the spaces

**Please review and let me know what you think! If I get enough decent reviews, maybe I'll write a follow-up piece. MAYBE.**

**No promises. I've got a lot doing at the moment.**

**Otherwise, enjoy.**

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Cat was in no way as naïve as people seemed to assume she was. Sure she acted sketchy and scatterbrained, and she dyed her hair to look like red velvet cupcakes, and sometimes it took her a little while to think things over completely, but most of the rest of it? The proverbial dumb blonde act? It was just that: an act. After all, she did go to a school for actors and actresses.

The truth was, she knew more about the horrors and dangers of the world than anybody at Hollywood Arts School ever would. She sighed, tapping her furry pink pencil against her head as she listened to history teacher go on about some war or another. The bell chimed to signal the end of class and she jumped up happily, tucking her pencil back behind her ear as she slung her purse over her shoulder and headed for the door, a smile plastered on her face as she skipped up to Jade in the hallway.

"Yay! It's lunch time!" she chirped.

"Oh joy," Jade deadpanned as Beck draped an arm over her shoulders and she reached up a hand to intertwine their fingers.

"I hope Festus has quesadillas today," she stated, following them to the Asphalt Cafe and finding a spot in the line in front of The Grub Truck while Beck and Jade went to find a table to wait for André, Robbie, Rex and Tori, (yes she knew Rex was just a puppet, but she acted like he was a real person because it made Robbie feel good). Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of Jade scaring a bunch of freshmen away from one of the tables and sitting down, Beck rolling his eyes and taking a seat next to her as Robbie walked up to join them. The line moved and Cat smiled, when suddenly someone grabbed her purse strap and pulled her out of the line; she almost reached around with a roundhouse kick when she recognized the person as Tori.

"Cat!"

"Hi Tori!" Cat greeted cheerfully as André ran up behind the brunette.

"Sorry Cat, I tried to stop her," he apologized.

"It's okay; there are probably no quesadillas anyway." André and Tori shared a look before turning back to Cat.

"That's not important. Cat your locker is gone!" Tori informed her loudly.

"My locker's not gone; I was just there this morning silly!" Cat laughed, pushing Tori in the shoulder.

"But somebody tagged it," André stated as they made their way over to the table where the others were sitting, "painted black and white graffiti all over it."

"That was me!" Cat cheered, taking a seat in-between Jade and Robbie.

"What was you?" Robbie asked.

"I redecorated my locker," Cat informed them all happily, pulling a can of fruit punch out of her purse.

"Really?" Jade asked, seeming genuinely interested. "Finally!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I was getting sick and tired of looked at your nauseatingly cheerful locker," Jade replied honestly.

"Jade," Beck sighed.

"She asked me a direct question."

"I get you wanting to redecorate your locker," Tori interjected before a fight could start. "But why just paint it with meaningless graffiti?"

"It's not graffiti," Cat insisted, pulling the tab on her can until it opened with a loud _hiss_. "It's a metaphor."

"Are you trying to be deep or something?" Jade asked; in all the time she had known Cat, the red-head had been nothing but a scatterbrained airhead.

"No, I'm being metaphorical." Jade rolled her eyes and stood up.

"I'm going to go get something to eat."

"Wait up, I'll go with you," Tori called, standing and following Jade to stand in the now-short line in front of The Grub Truck. Cat dropped a straw into her can and took a sip just as her phone chimed and she pulled it out of her purse, pulling up the new text.

From: T. Vega

_You going out tonight?_

Reply: _Yes. S5. Hafta e-mail Dawnie in Cleveland today too._

"So, what exactly is your locker a metaphor for Cat?" Robbie asked.

"It's black and white, so I'm gonna say it's a metaphor for her crazy mind," Rex stated.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ignore him," Robbie said as an apology. "Why can't you be nice to my friends?" he asked Rex.

"Maybe because they're your friends?"

"What does your locker represent Cat?" Beck asked, repeating Robbie's question as the ventriloquist fell into yet another argument with his puppet. Cat fingered the chain of her new necklace, pondering the question for a few seconds before answering.

"Life," she answered finally, her tone so serious that all of the boys stopped and stared at her a moment. "Anyway, I have to go talk to my costume design teacher about my midterm project," she announced cheerfully, standing up. "I think I'm going to make a pirate costume. Maybe I'll even make a fake parrot!" She threw her now-empty can and walked away, not even looking as it landed perfectly in a near-by trash can.

A few minutes later, Jade and Tori returned to the table, Jade with her usual salad and Tori with a turkey sandwich for her and pizza for André.

"Where'd Cat go?" Tori asked.

"She said she had to talk to a teacher," André informed her, taking his pizza from her.

"Hey Jade, how good is Cat's aim?" Beck asked.

"Not," she replied, "the girl has almost no hand-eye coordination; I'm surprised she didn't completely fail stage-fighting. Why?" Robbie pointed to the trash can where Cat had tossed her empty can. "What about the trash can?"

"It's a few feet away right?" Jade nodded, rolling her eyes as she opened the box containing her salad. "Cat just threw out her can."

"So she's not littering, what's new about that?" Tori asked.

"I mean literally _threw_ the can; from this table; _without looking._" They all stared at the can a moment.

"That's impossible," Jade stated, taking a bite of her salad.

"Cat's as weak as…well, as a kitten," Tori volunteered.

"Maybe Lil' Red's been working out?" André suggested.

"Doubtful," Jade replied. The bell chimed, signaling the end of lunch, and they all stood, pondering the constant mystery that was Cat as they disposed of their food and headed off to their final classes of the day.

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After the final bell rang, Andre, Tori, Beck, and Jade stood in front of Cat's locker, just staring at it.

"It looks like a cow." Jade stated.

"It's not a cow," Beck sighed. "At least…I'm pretty sure it's not."

"Cat said it meant something, so it has to mean something," Andre interjected.

"Andre," Tori sighed, "this is Cat we're talking about. When she says that it means something, it could mean _anything_. Nobody knows how her mind works." All four stared at it for about a minute longer before sighing and heading home, resolving to ask their red-headed girl about it tomorrow.

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_Six Months Ago…_

"_Into every generation, there is a chosen one. One girl in all the world. She alone will wield the strength and skill to stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. She is the Slayer," the dark haired young woman turned around to face them; she didn't look much older than they did. "A few years ago, my sister, the oldest living Slayer, and a bunch of potentials, a couple of humans, and a _really_ powerful Witch broke the mold. We turned all of the potentials into Slayers, effectively ending the Slayer line, but also ensuring that the Slayer's live longer, that they never fight alone, that they always have friends." She handed each of them a small velvet box and they opened them; inside was a plain silver cross on a chain. "I'm telling the two of you all of this because you two are the only Slayers in Los Angeles. We're counting on you to help maintain balance between the Good and the Evil."_

_The red-head and the brunette turned to stare at each other in shock._

"_My name is Dawn and I'll be your watcher. It will be a pleasure working with you both, Caterina and Trina."_


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